Livingston Taylor (born November 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Boston and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he is the brother of singer-songwriter James Taylor, singer-songwriter Kate Taylor, singer Alex Taylor, and innkeeper and singer Hugh Taylor.Paul, Donna. "A Quiet Place to Make Music and Putter" New York Times, April 23, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2017. Taylor is most notable for his Billboard hits "I Will Be In Love With You", "First Time Love", and "I'll Come Running".MusicVF.com. "Livingston Taylor Top Songs". Retrieved November 19, 2017.
He continues to perform nationally and internationally, and has collaborated with Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett, Jethro Tull, Carly Simon, and his brother James Taylor. He has been a faculty member at Berklee College of Music since 1989.
Early life Taylor was born to parents Isaac M. "Ike" Taylor and Gertrude "Trudy" Taylor in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in North Carolina when his father, a physician, accepted a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Harris, Craig. Livingston Taylor – Bio. AllMusic.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017. His mother had been a student at the Music Conservatory in Boston.Conway, Terry. Livingston Taylor: Entertainer Extraordinaire. WFIT radio. January 9, 2018. He was the fourth of five children, his siblings being Alex (1947–1993), James (born 1948), Kate (born 1949), and Hugh (born 1952).
At an early age, Taylor built a repertoire of folk songs. "From his high chair in the kitchen, little Liv memorized the radio jingle for snuff, chanting 'If your snuff's too strong, it wrong. Get Tuberose.'"White, Timothy. James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away, Omnibus Press, London, 2001. . His mother, Trudy, recounted that Taylor "was always inventing things". "He and James would make a stringed instrument out of a gourd, or a gut-bucket bass from a broom pole and a washtub, or a flute out of a garden hose, or drums out of cans." Family sing-a-longs took place as a way for Trudy to pass the time while her husband was away. During those early family musical performances, James played cello, Alex played violin, Kate dulcimer, and Livingston banjo. As recounted by James, "We sang African songs, union songs, folk hymns and radio jingles. Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and The Weavers were the records we most listened to. It was their mother, Trudy, who was the catalyst for the children to create their own songs. One day while in the kitchen, she held up a can of vegetables saying: "Why don't you invent an ad jingle about this can of food?" "Alex, James, and Livingston took up their banjo, cello and harmonica and began to improvise some musical sloganeering as Kate and Trudy joined in." These impromptu performances were christened the "kitchen concerts" by Trudy. They would continue until the children were old enough to leave home for their secondary education at boarding schools.
When Livingston was eight, his mother took him and his siblings to Europe, crossing the Atlantic on the New Amsterdam. Their father, Ike, met them in Europe and they all returned home on the Ile De France.Taylor Livingston. Stage Performance. Mentor Publishing, Boston, MA, 2011. .
Taylor credits his eldest brother, Alex, for inspiring him, at age 13, to be a musician after Alex returned home one evening having earned $20 performing at a fraternity party. Livingston picked up the guitar and became quite accomplished by age 17.Kotsopoulos, Mike.For Livingston Taylor, Hospitality Is Heartbeat of Performance. The Vineyard Gazette, June 30, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
The Taylor family started vacationing on Martha's Vineyard in the early 1950s, and Livingston has spent every summer there. His parents bought a home there in 1963, and in 1977 Livingston purchased his own 300-square-foot home for $111,000. He refers to the small home as "The Camp".
Career
1960s Taylor began playing music in public for pay in 1963. In Chapel Hill, he was part of a folk trio with guitarist Paul Collins and singer Kim Packer. They covered hits by The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary. In junior high he was in a rock group for a short period of time. His first serious attempt at songwriting came in 1966 while he was completing his secondary school education at McLean's Arlington School. He says that that first song, "I'm Searching for a Miracle", was "terrible", but his second attempt, a song titled "Good Friends", became part of his folk setlist for the next four decades.
In 1968, Manny Greenhill, who had managed Joan Baez for a time, got him a booking at a YMCA in Worcester, which led to some shows at Boston University. It was during one of those shows at BU that he had the opportunity to open for Joni Mitchell.Cryns, Jim. The Other Taylor Comes to Town. Urban Milwaukee, April 4, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
Around this time, producer Jon Landau suggested to Taylor that he approach the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records founded by Phil Walden and Jerry Wexler.
1970s Taylor was one of the first artists to sign with Capricorn Records in 1970. Landau gathered session players Pete Carr (guitar), Paul Hornsby (keyboards), Robert Popwell (bass) and Johnny Sandlin (drums). "We made a lot of the album in Macon, and then we came up to Boston to finish off a few vocals...and then we mixed it in Detroit because Jon was recording an album with a group called MC5." Taylor's debut album, Livingston Taylor, was produced by Landau (who would later produce Bruce Springsteen) and included the song "Carolina Day".Gilbert, Barry. Livingston Taylor shares love of music with fans, students. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 12, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2017. "Carolina Day" peaked at No. 93 on the Billboard Top-100 chart.Billboard.com. Livingston Taylor: Chart History. Retrieved November 19, 2017. The debut album included ten originals written by Taylor and one cover: "Six Days on the Road" penned by Earl Greene and Carl Montgomery.
By 1970 Taylor's parents, Ike and Trudy, were legally separated. Several of the Taylor children moved north from North Carolina. Livingston and his then-girlfriend Margaret "Maggie" Shea moved into a cottage in Weston, Massachusetts.
The following year, Taylor's second album, Liv, also on Capricorn Records and produced by Landau, was released.AllMusic.com. Livingston Taylor: Discography . AllMusic.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017. It included the song "Get Out of Bed" which peaked at No. 97 on Billboard. Once again, Joe Viglione penned the AllMusic review, stating that "Get Out of Bed" "is a brilliant and exciting slice of pop music" and that "with the understated production of Jon Landau, Livingston's beautiful heartfelt vocals make this an extraordinary work of art."Viglione, Joe. Livingstone Taylor: Album Review. AllMusic.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
Taylor's third and final album on Capricorn, Over the Rainbow was released in 1973 and features guest vocalists James Taylor and Carly Simon on his original "Be My New Horizon". In her album review, Denise Sullivan wrote that the title track was "an inspired vocal version" of a song that has been interpreted by many others.Sullivan, Denise. Livingston Taylor: Album Review. AllMusic.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
Taylor left Capricorn Records and released the first of two albums on Epic Records, Three Way Mirror, in 1978. The album featured "I Will Be In Love With You," which peaked at No. 30 on Billboard, and "Going Round One More Time," a song that was later recorded by his brother James Taylor for his 1985 album That's Why I'm Here. Livingston Taylor promoted Three Way Mirror when he toured with Linda Ronstadt as her opening act.
In 1979, Capricorn Records released Echoes, a collection of songs from Taylor's first three albums that included "I Will Be In Love With You." In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau appraised the compilation and Taylor's career up to that point: "Vocally, Liv is almost James's twin but not quite—he adds a touch of depth to the lissome drawl and subtracts all wow and flutter. Since what makes James unique is also what makes him repulsive, I find Liv more likable but less interesting—especially given his songwriting, which this best-of, drawn from his three early '70s LPs, makes the best of. I ask you, what good is a funny voice without a sense of humor?"
During the 1970s, Taylor appeared on several nationally televised variety shows including The Midnight Special, Dinah! (hosted by Dinah Shore), The Mike Douglas Show and American Bandstand.Internet Movie Database. Livingston Taylor. IMDb. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
1980s In 1980 Taylor released his second album on the Epic label, Man's Best Friend, which was produced by John Boylan and Jeff Baxter. The album contained the songs: "First Time Love," and "Pajamas" (sometimes known as "I've Got My Pajamas On"), which was later adapted into a book for children written by Taylor and his wife, Maggie.Dooley P. Pajamas (Book). School Library Journal [serial online]. November 1988;35(3):96. Available from: MasterFILE Main Edition, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 19, 2017. In his album review, Joe Viglione wrote that "Man's Best Friend boasts superb musicianship, high production values, good song selection, beautiful vocal performances from Livingston Taylor, and an impressive cast of guest stars who do not get in the way of the singer/songwriter". Guest vocalists included Carla Thomas and Don Henley.Viglione, Joe. Livingston Taylor: Album Review. AllMusic.com. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
In 1982, Taylor made an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.
In 1984, Taylor hosted a nationally syndicated television show, similar to American Bandstand called This Week's Music. In some markets the show aired five days weekly. Musical guests included Paul McCartney and Jon Bon Jovi.Internet Movie Database. This Week in Music: Full Cast and Crew. IMDb. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
In 1986, Livingston and his siblings, James, Kate, Hugh, and Alex Taylor played live on the Today Show on Christmas morning.
In 1988, Taylor's first of two children's books, Pajamas, co-written with his wife, Maggie Taylor was published by Harcourt. In her review for School Library Journal, Patricia Dooley wrote "If we knew the tune we could hum along: the lyrics of a children's song make up the text of this bedtime book." She goes on to say that the illustrator "has provided cuddly-looking acrylics, a smug little kid, and a passle of appealing stuffed animals."
Taylor's one album on the Sony Records label, Life Is Good, was produced by Artie Traum and Scott Petito and released in 1988. "The tribute to Louis Armstrong is an essential element of Taylor's ability to put together albums that are extraordinary in their perfection."Viglione, Joe. Livingstone Taylor: Album Review. Retrieved November 20, 2017. The following year the album was the winner of the 1989 Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Album.Boston Music Awards. Boston Music Awards 1989 Winners. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
In 1989, he began teaching the class stage performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. (See additional details in Berklee section below.)
On November 21, 1989, his 39th birthday, Taylor made a decision to give up alcohol and pursue a lifelong dream of flying. He bought an airplane and enrolled in aviation classes.
In the late 1980s, Taylor wrote and performed the theme songs for two local Boston-area TV programs: the children's series A Likely Story (produced by WCVB-TV) and the weeknight infotainment program Evening Magazine (produced by WBZ-TV).
1990s